Connect 3 : Living the Dream
by BadassPinkSunglasses
Summary: Follow Connect 3 on tour as they travel, rehearse, make music, interact with fans, and spend time with family and friends! Slighty Naitlyn oriented!
1. To Do List

**Chapter 1: To Do List**

"Really, Nate," Caitlyn giggled, "A to-do list?"

"Believe me Cait, don't make fun of the list," Shane grumbled plopping down next to a PJ clad Caitlyn Gellar and Nate Gray. "We have _all_ been at the end of that fight, and it's not pretty."

Caitlyn chuckled as Nate glared at his older brother. The couple was going over the to-do list Nate had created. It was to be completed before Connect 3 left to go on tour.

"I hate you," Nate _affectionately _told Shane.

Just then Mrs. Gray came in and looked over the paper set out in front of Caitlyn.

"Uh-Oh," Mrs. Gray groaned knowingly. "Is that the to-do list?"

"Does everyone hate my to-do lists _that _much?" Nate exclaimed. The whole room was silent. "I'll be in my room!" he growled snatching the paper from the counter angrily.

Caitlyn sighed. "I'll be right back," she told Nate's family, who understood. It was best if Caitlyn talked to Nate first. She was less likely to have her head ripped off.

She slowly walked up the stairs and down the hallway to Nate and, Nate's younger brother, Joey's room. Caitlyn knocked ever so softly as to not awake the still sleeping Joey. Nate swung the door open, but stopped it before it could slam into the wall loudly. His face was angry and had a glare for whoever had decided to disturb him, but Nate immediately regretted the hostile glare upon seeing Caitlyn's hurt expression.

"I'm sorry we made fun of your to-do list!" Caitlyn said shortly, feeling tears sting her eyes. Nate didn't need to be so cold, it was just a joke! She turned away quickly, not wanting Nate to see her cry.

"Caity, wait," Nate called out. "I'm sorry, I was just embarrassed. I shouldn't have reacted that way, especially not at you."

Caitlyn swiped at her tears and turned around giving her best smile. "It's okay. And don't be embarrassed by your organizational tendencies. I love the 'need to organize everything' attitude you have, I think it's cute," she whispered before kissing him softly.

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Caitlyn looked down at the photocopied list Nate had given everyone a copy of.

_Promotional Photo Shoot_

The limo suddenly halted and Caitlyn, Shane, Nate, Mitchie, and Jason all stepped out into the cool November air. The street was lined with screaming fans surprising the unwary Caitlyn. Nate grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. The group quickly made their way inside the studio stopping to sign a few autographs on the way.

Once inside the studio the five teenagers were approached by the photographer. "Boys, hello!" the short man with an Italian accent greeted. He was bald, dressed in all black, and waved a camera about in his hand.

"Hey, Aldo," the boys responded in what seemed like rehearsed unison.

"The stylists are behind that white curtain," Aldo said pointing. "I shall be waiting."

Caitlyn watched as the photographer walked towards two scared looking interns. He began yelling at them because they hadn't loaded the film properly.

"He seems a little… intimidating," Caitlyn whispered, grasping for the appropriate word.

"Oh, don't worry about him," Nate laughed. "He couldn't hurt a fly!"

As Mitchie and the guys went to put on the outfits assigned to them, Caitlyn sat down and flipped through a magazine. Mitchie was in the photo shoot since she was opening for Connect 3 on tour.

10 minutes later Nate emerged in grey skinny jeans and a blue plaid shirt. He smiled at Caitlyn before being handed a guitar and was rushed onto the white set.

Nate's shoot began filled with energy. Nate was told to do some tricks and jumps with his guitar, all of which he did like a pro. Then Aldo asked him to carry out some seated shots that were a lot mellower. These photos consisted of Nate playing some soft chords on his guitar. Caitlyn thought these pictures really captured Nate's passion and daily activities, plus they were super adorable. Shane, on the contrary, believed they were boring and super lame.

Once Nate's set of shots were completed it was Mitchie's turn. Aldo called her name and Mitchie stood up, her hands were visibly shaking and this worried Caitlyn, who was seated next to Mitchie. Caitlyn hugged her self-conscious best friend and encouraged her to go and rock the photo shoot.

Nate walked up to Caitlyn who looked almost as nervous as Mitchie. He smiled and put his arm around Caitlyn's waist.

"How's Mitch doing?" Nate asked.

"She's ball of nerves. Nate, I'll be surprised if she doesn't throw up on the set," Caitlyn said seriously as she watched Aldo try to coax the confidence out of Mitchie.

An hour later Mitchie was done and Aldo promised her he had gotten some good shots. Shane and Jason then began their shoots, but rather then watching them, Nate pulled Caitlyn into the wardrobe area.

"Your turn," he smiled.

"Huh?"

"You're going to do some shots with me. They won't be used on the tour posters; they're more for us," Nate said kissing her cheek. "And, I'm sure the press will get their hands on them too," he added bitterly, as an after thought.

Caitlyn gulped nervously and Nate just laughed.

"Are you sure?" Caitlyn asked Nate uneasily. Nate gave her a grin before walking back towards the set, leaving Caitlyn with a set of stylists.

They put Caitlyn in a cute yellow top, which fit as though it were made for her, and a pair of jeans with some black stilettos. The hairstylist took out Caitlyn's bun and curled her unruly hair to perfection. The final touch was a light dusting of make-up. Caitlyn then stepped out from under the curtain, being extra careful of her hair and spotted Mitchie.

"Mitch, have you seen Nate?" Caitlyn asked, walking toward her best friend.

"Yeah, he's over by the-" Mitchie turned to look at Caitlyn. "Whoa, you look so pretty, Cait!"

Caitlyn laughed, "Thanks Mitch, but where's Nate?"

"He's over by the drinks. He's probably drank all the Diet Coke in the building by now!" Mitchie joked.

Caitlyn nodded then set off towards her boyfriend. When Caitlyn spotted him with his back turned to her she smiled and decided to sneak up on him.

"Hey, stranger!" Caitlyn exclaimed as she lunged at his back.

Nate jumped and choked on the grape he had in his mouth. Caitlyn hopped down and watched as he finished swallowing the grape.

"Oops, I didn't know you were eating, sorry!" Caitlyn smiled innocently.

"Its okay. Now come on. Aldo called us a couple minutes ago, he's ready for us," Nate said, his arm around her waist, steering her towards set. "By the way, you look beautiful," Nate whispered making Caitlyn blush.

Aldo ushered them into position and gave the couple some pointers, none of which were necessary. Caitlyn and Nate were so comfortable with each other they did what Aldo wanted before he could even ask.

Aldo got shots of Nate with both arms wrapped around Caitlyn and a few of the couple laughing with their foreheads pressed together. Finally, Aldo got a picture of a sweet and innocent kiss Nate had softly placed on Caitlyn's awaiting lips.

"Okay, thank you guys. We're done!" Aldo shouted, pulling Nate and Caitlyn from their kiss.

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"Alright," Nate said once everyone was settled back in the limo. "Next on the list are tour clothes!"

Caitlyn looked at her list and sure enough Nate was correct.

_2. Tour Wardrobe_

The five teens pulled up in front of a warehouse looking building. Inside they saw, that it was, in fact, a warehouse FILLED with clothing. It was like Mitchie and Caitlyn's dream!

Shane made his way to a section of the warehouse where a few desks were set up, almost like a reception area.

"Hi, we're here to see Nadia," Shane smiled at the receptionist.

"Of course, right this way," the young girl responded before leading the group down a path, through the maze of clothes. At the end of the 'maze' was a tall woman with short brown hair.

"Hi, guys," Nadia, Connect 3's stylist, greeted. "I've got a section for you all to choose from just over here."

The whole group walked over to the only open area in the building which housed a row of hanging curtains which acted as dressing rooms. Once again, Caitlyn was left to read a magazine while waiting for her friends to return from the change rooms.

Jason came out first. He was dressed in a dark suit that was highlighted with gold.

"Nadia," Jason started nervously. "I don't mean to be rude, or sound snobby, but these clothes seem really cheap." Jason tugged at his sleeve a bit and it ripped away from the torso of his jacket.

Caitlyn watched in amusement as Nadia attempted to explain that the clothes were special. They were designed to be rip-away so the guys could change quickly between sets.

Soon Nate and Shane came out wearing similar outfits to Jason's. The central highlighted theme seemed to be the colour gold.

Both guys came over to Caitlyn and asked what was going on with Jason.

"He doesn't quite understand the concept of rip-away clothing," Caitlyn laughed. Shane sighed and walked over to the distressed Jason who looked utterly confused, and tried to help Nadia.

Nate and Caitlyn laughed at their crazy friends before Caitlyn turned to her boyfriend.

"So, rip-away outfits, huh?" Caitlyn smiled mischievously. "That could always come in handy," she joked, wiggling her eyebrows as she held on to the front of Nate's jacket.

"I _must_ agree," Nate laughed.

Mitchie then rounded the corner in a pretty white dress that caught Caitlyn's eye and she instantly abandoned Nate.

"Oh my gosh, Mitch, that's such a cute dress!" Caitlyn squealed.

"Okay, I'll just stand over here, alone!" Nate called out, causing Caitlyn and Mitchie to roll their eyes and laugh.

The girls gushed over all the outfits set out for Mitchie, while the guys went along with Nadia's suggestions and allowed her to take final measurements to alter the clothes.

Once Mitchie and Caitlyn approved all of Nadia's choices, they went and found the boys who were looking at accessories.

"Oh these must be mine-" Shane said as he lifted a pair of shoes that he liked. "Nate? No, these would never fit Nate's tiny feet!" Shane was utterly confused as he stared at the little tag that had Nate's name on it.

"Shut up!" Nate growled snatching the shoes from Shane's grip. "My feet have grown since sixth grade you know!" Nate rolled his eyes, he referring to the shopping trip 5 years ago when Nate's feet were uncharacteristically small.

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"Now for my favourite item on the list!" Shane exclaimed rubbing his hands together happily.

_3. New Shoes_

The whole group walked into a shoe store with huge windows. Shane and Jason ran at the walls covered with shoes and began drooling over them.

"Could we not have found a store with smaller windows and maybe a little more privacy?" Mitchie whined as she shielded her eyes from the flashes the paparazzi's cameras were emitting.

Caitlyn rolled her eyes at Mitchie's developing diva attitude and followed Shane and Jason's example, but this time dragging Nate along with her.

"Oh my gosh, look at the sparkly lime green converse!" Caitlyn squealed. "I have to have them!"

Caitlyn began pulling shoes of the racks 4 at a time and setting them in a pile next to a bench. Nate was also looking at shoes nearby, but he was no where near as excited as Caitlyn.

Once Caitlyn had a huge pile she decided it was time to try them on. Nate sat next to her and did the same, but only trying on a couple pairs.

"Nate, are you buying new shoes for tour?" Caitlyn asked. "I mean, it's not as though you enjoy shopping."

Nate smiled. "You're right, I don't, but it's a sort of tradition. We have always bought a new pair of shoes before leaving to go on tour. Before we got signed Mom bought them, but now that we have some money, we can afford them on our own," Nate laughed. "Instead, _we_ buy our Mom at least one pair of shoes on each tour."

Caitlyn 'awed' and went back to her pile of shoes. Nate decided to turn his attention to his brothers who were pointing out all the shoes that they liked, didn't like, and already owned.

"Hey guys, instead of talking about shoes, why don't you _buy _some shoes!" Nate laughed.

Jason and Shane gave their younger a mocking look. Shane then went back to flipping a shoe around in his hand, like he normally did with his microphone, trying to impress Mitchie.

"Oh, very good, Shane!" Mitchie laughed, clapping her hands together in delight.

Nate shook his head at his brother's inability to tell the girl that he loved his true feelings about her.

"Hmm," Caitlyn pondered, pulling Nate from his thoughts. "Nate, I can't choose between the orange, green, purple, and yellow ones. What do you think?"

Caitlyn set out all 4 pairs of shoes in front of Nate for him to decide. Nate groaned. He was horrible at making choices.

"Um, why don't you just get them all?" Nate asked. "It'll be my treat!"

Caitlyn squealed and hugged her boyfriend, "Thank you!" She planted a kiss on Nate's lips before bringing all the shoes to the cashier.

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After the shoe store, the boys and Caitlyn dropped Mitchie off at her house, promising that they would pick her up tomorrow at 6:30pm for take-off. Caitlyn was staying with the Gray family, since she lived in L.A. which was a long ways away from New Jersey.

At the Gray house, the whole family plus Caitlyn ate dinner and then went to get ready for bed. Before bed, all the boys and Caitlyn decided to watch a movie in the family room. The plan was perfect and relaxing, until Mrs. Gray walked in and interrupted them.

"Shane, Jason, Nate, I have some chores I want you to do. Shane, take out the trash, please. Nate and Jason, I have something I want you guy to move for me," Mrs. Gray said expectantly.

All three boys sighed, but did as they were told.

Once the guys were gone Joey and Caitlyn stretched out over the whole couch and Joey snuggled up to Caitlyn resting his tired head on her shoulder. Caitlyn smiled and wrapped her arm around his little body. Just then Nate and Jason walked by carrying a heavy box.

"Hey! Joey, are you trying to steal my girlfriend?" Nate joked.

"Maybe!" Joey exclaimed, sticking his tongue out. Nate pouted.

"Oh, Nate, don't worry, there's always room for you. Just help Jason put that away first, Muscle Man!" Caitlyn teased.

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"Wakey wakey, Caity," Nate said rubbing his girlfriends back.

Caitlyn groaned and rolled over. "What time is it?"

"6am" Nate responded indifferently.

"Nate, you're nuts!" Caitlyn grumbled, before throwing the covers over her head and shooing Nate from her guest bedroom in the Gray's house.

"But, Caity," Nate whined. "We have to pack; we leave for the airport in 12 hours! That doesn't leave us a lot of time!" Nate accompanied his claim by pointing at the final item on the to-do list.

_4. Pack_

"No, you have to pack, now out!" Caitlyn's clothes were already packed up in her suitcase which sat in the corner of the room.

Nate sighed and begrudgingly left the room, moving on to the only space in the house that he had not yet been kicked out of; his parent's bedroom.

Three hours later everyone in the house had finally woken up and it was becoming a mad dash to get things packed.

Nate had all his clothing packed since he'd been up since 5am, but he still had some sports stuff that he wanted to bring along, that still sat in the garage.

Caitlyn, having nothing better to do, agreed to join him and sat watching as Nate gushed over all his sports paraphernalia. It was clear that sports were his main passion next to music.

"Nathan," Mrs. Gray said breathlessly, popping her head into the garage. "Oh, Caitlyn too, I should have known. Can you two come and supervise Joey? I still have a lot of other stuff to do and I can't keep an eye on him as well."

"Sure, Mom," Nate said putting his final baseball bat in the bag and lugging it with him and Caitlyn into the house to place with the rest of the luggage.

Once inside the house Nate and Caitlyn climbed the stairs to the two youngest brothers' room. Inside Joey was shoving as many toys into his bag as he could, before an adult returned.

"Joey," Nate moaned. "You're not bringing ALL your toys again!"

"But Nate-" Joey began to refuse.

"Joseph, listen to your brother!" Mrs. Gray said firmly, walking past the doorway.

Seven hours later everyone's bags were packed and the whole family was waiting in the limo for Shane.

"Always the last one out the door," Mr. Gray said laughing once Shane finally got into the vehicle.

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Caitlyn and Mitchie said on the private jet bouncing excitedly.

"I cannot believe this is happening right now!"

"Me either!"

Both girls screamed excitedly in agreement as the jet began to take off.


	2. The Big Game

**Chapter 2: The Big Game**

Connect 3's jet landed in Arizona just past midnight.

Shane and Nate, who had been working on a new song, looked around at the nearly silent plane. Mr and Mrs Gray were rushing around picking up toys Joey had left laying around while the girls, and Jason, and Joey were fast asleep on the couch. Jason was leaning against the jet wall, Caitlyn leaning on Jason, Joey in Caitlyn's lap, and Mitchie stretched out across the rest of the couch.

"Okay, we're all clear. You guys are welcome to leave the jet when you're ready," the pilot said, entering from the cockpit. "There are two SUVs waiting on the runway to take you guys to your hotel."

"Of course, thank you!" Mrs Gray said yawning and picking up her bag, along with Joey's.

Mrs Gray made her way off the plane first, followed by Mr Gray who had a sleeping Joey in his arms. Shane then woke Mitchie who stumbled off the jet into a SUV. Jason was a little harder to wake and Shane had to act as a crutch and walk Jason to the car. Caitlyn was, by far, the most difficult though. Nate tried for five minutes to wake Caitlyn, but every time he nudged her, she would simply grumble and roll over. Nate sighed and decided to just carry her out. He lifted her and she instinctively wrapped her arms and legs around Nate and rested her head on his shoulder.

Nate carefully made his way down the jet stairs and got into the SUV, not putting Caitlyn down. The two SUVs drove to the hotel, Jason, Joey, and Mr and Mrs Gray in one vehicle; Shane, Mitchie, Nate, and Caitlyn in the other. The band decided to enter the hotel through the back door since they were tired and really didn't feel like dealing with the fans that filled the hotel lobby.

Once inside the hotel, Nate carried Caitlyn up the elevators and brought her to the room she was sharing with Mitchie. Nate set Caitlyn down in one bed and Mitchie collapsed onto the other.

"'Night, Nate," Mitchie yawned.

"Goodnight, Mitchie," Nate responded before kissing Caitlyn's forehead and leaving the room.

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In the morning the whole group decided to go to the arena, where the first show would be, to begin rehearsals.

At the venue everyone got to check out the stage. It was like a playground of elevators, trap doors, and ramps. The elevators would be used to kick off each concert; the boys would be lifted through the floor of the stage. A special shiny black ramp was set up for Jason to run up and down while playing the guitar and Joey decided to use it as a playground slide.

"Okay, Joe, we have to practise for a bit. You have to get off the stage," Nate said walking up to his younger brother.

"No!" Joey cried, tears streaming down his face. "This is the only fun I get to have; I always have to do stuff for you three's band!"

Nate huffed, his short temper getting the best of him. "JOEY! GET OFF THE STAGE RIGHT-"

"Nate," Caitlyn softly interrupted, coming and taking one of his hands in hers. "Just let him have some fun for a little while longer."

Nate muttered some profanities, but nodded.

"Yay, Caitlyn!" Joey exclaimed, jumping up and hugging the smiling girl. "Thank you!"

While Joey got some more fun time, the stage manager decided it would be best if Shane tried out his trap door. He was to simply fall through the floor during one of the songs, and reappear on the opposite side of the stage. Shane was excited about the stunt; after all, his nickname _was_ danger.

Shane stood waiting expectantly and in less than one second his face turned from smug to surprise. The door collapsed out from under him and he landed on soft padded flooring.

"Whoa! That was awesome!" Shane exclaimed, standing up, ready to do it again.

Shane walked back onto stage, but this time he called his Dad to come and watch. Mr Gray stood in the audience and watched as his son fell through the floor. He had a look of horror on his face.

"What d'ya think?" Shane asked, popping up next to his father.

"I think that's super dangerous, son!" Mr Gray exploded. "What if you broke something? We would have to cancel the tour!"

"Calm down, Dad," Shane said rolling his eyes. "It's like a four foot drop, I'm perfectly safe!" The stage manager then came up and supported Shane's points.

"It's true, Sir. Your son is completely safe. We would never put him at risk!"

Mr Gray rolled his eyes and told Shane to do what he wanted, because it was clear that no matter what Mr Gray said, Shane would do the opposite.

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After lunch Connect 3 rehearsed their set list; Caitlyn and Mitchie watched from where the audience would be seated in just one day.

"Fuck!" Nate exclaimed, throwing his instrument to his guitar tech. "Stupid fucking guitar!"

"Nate, it was good, really!" Caitlyn soothed as they walked briskly out of the venue and towards the awaiting SUV.

"No it wasn't, Caitlyn!" he yelled. "My stupid guitar and microphone kept cutting out, Jason's ramp is too slippery and he almost went flying off stage, and Shane hurt his ankle last week and is having trouble doing the flips with me! It's all a mess!"

"Nate," Caitlyn whispered. They had finally made it to the car and were sitting in the back seat as the driver raced towards the hotel. "You guys will do great. No one expects the very first show to be perfect. Just give it sometime and Shane's ankle will get better, Jason will find ways to manoeuvre down the ramp, and your guitar and mic will be fixed for tomorrow."

"You're right," Nate sighed admittedly. "I guess I'm just really nervous and excited for tomorrow..."

"And that's perfectly fine, you just need to find a way to control your emotions a bit," Caitlyn smiled understandingly.

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The boys arrived at the arena the next day, a few hours before the concert.

"Are you ready?" Shane asked Jason.

"Oh yeah, it's game time!" Jason responded, high-fiving Shane.

The two boys looked over to their younger brother who was stressing out and pestering the guitar technicians, constantly checking if the previous day's glitches had been worked out. Every time he asked, the answer was 'yes'.

"Okay, Nate," Shane said as him and Jason each grabbed one of Nate's arms and dragged him to a private room in the back of the arena. "It's warm up and lockdown time!"

The boys stood in the bathroom putting their first outfits on and practising their harmonies. The lockdown usually lasted for at least 45 minutes.

After the lockdown, the boys made their way out to the hall in front of the stage wings. Everyone involved in the tour, including Caitlyn and the Gray family, were standing in a circle waiting for the boys. It was time for the pre-show ritual: a prayer and a superstitious chant. It was Mitchie and Caitlyn's first time backstage with the boys, so this was all new to them, and they found the chant funny.

"Connect 3, on stage in three minutes!" a voice came over the speakers backstage.

Jason and Shane began jumping around like boxers to get their jitters out. Nate stood with Caitlyn as she calmed and encouraged him with soothing words.

"Connect 3, on stage in 10…9…8…" the speaker voice blasted again.

"Good luck!" Caitlyn said before kissing and hugging Nate quickly. She then rushed off towards the VIP balcony and waited with anticipation for her boyfriend and two of her best friends to blast onto stage.

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"Nate!" Caitlyn exclaimed, jumping into his arms the second he stepped off stage. "You guys did so amazing!"

Nate laughed, "Caity! It was the perfect opening show! And it's all thanks to you!"

"Me?"

"Without you I would have exploded and been hospitalized by now!" Nate joked


	3. Downtime

_Note to Dominique:_

_Thank you so much for your review! Since you weren't signed into a FanFiction Account I couldn't respond with a personal message, but felt that I should still get back to you. I'm glad you are enjoying my story and think its original! Originality is always my main goal! To answer your question about the Living the Dream television series, yes I do go back and watch the episodes over again. I only watch each episode once though, just so each chapter isn't too alike to its episode. Once again, thank you for the review and keep on reading! _

**Chapter 3: Downtime**

It was two weeks into the Play My Music tour and everyone was coming to terms with the fact that because of the constant traveling they get accustom to a set schedule. Time zones, venues, and hotels were constantly changing and it was tough to keep up with it all. The trip was especially hard on Caitlyn and Mitchie since they'd never gone on a cross-country tour before.

Finally, on the Friday of the second week of tour, the group found themselves some free time. They were in Indiana and weren't scheduled to leave for Illinois until Monday.

Mitchie and Caitlyn were hanging out in Mitchie's makeshift dressing room the venue had supplied her. Mitchie was reading magazines and listening to her iPod while Caitlyn was reading one of her favourite novels.

"Mitch"

"What is it, Cait?" Mitchie asked looking up from the article she was reading.

"I just realised, we haven't had anywhere to go or anything to do in two hours…" Caitlyn said in awe. "And we have nothing to do for the next three days! This must be a miracle!"

"Cait, you're right! We should get the guys and go and do something!"

Caitlyn agreed and they decided to go off in separate directions, searching the whole stadium for their best friends. Mitchie decided to go towards the tour bus and look in there, while Caitlyn chose to check the boy's dressing room.

Caitlyn found Nate and Jason before Mitchie was able to find Shane. Jason was on his lap top Instant Messaging his girlfriend Ella Pador, while Nate was attacking the food that had been set up a little over half an hour ago for lunch.

"Mmm, bananas!" Nate said aloud, smiling evilly for a reason Caitlyn was unsure of.

"Nate, don't even-"

"Hey Jase," Nate taunted, waving the banana in front of Jason's face. Jason gagged; bananas made him sick.

"Nate! Get it away," Jason moaned. Nate pretended to begin turning around to leave Jason alone, but shoved it back in face. "NATE!" Jason exclaimed, slapping Nate over the head.

Nate laughed and walked towards the couch on the other side of the room.

"Natey," Caitlyn scolded, although she was laughing on the inside. "Leave your brother alone!" Caitlyn walked through the threshold of the room and made her way over to her boyfriend. Caitlyn then collapsed atop of Nate, who let out a soft 'oof'.

"Hey," Nate smiled, placing his lips over top of Caitlyn's.

"Hi," Caitlyn whispered when their lips parted.

"And to what do I owe this pleasure?" Nate joked.

"Well, me and Mitchie were hanging out and we realised we have three whole days of downtime!" Caitlyn exclaimed enthusiastically. Nate laughed. "We need to do something!"

"Okay, well we need to stay at the venue for today, the crew is trying out new stuff and we need to be here to approve of any changes they make," Nate started. "But tomorrow and Sunday we are COMPLETELY free to go anywhere we please!"

Caitlyn sighed, a little disappointed. "I still think we should try to do something here today! We need a little fun!"

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"Shane?" Mitchie called, walking into the Connect 3 tour bus.

"Hey, Mitch, I'm back here!"

Mitchie walked through the bus and finally found Shane in the back room.

"Shane, what are you doing?" Mitchie asked through laughter.

Shane was currently leaning against the wall in a hand-stand position.

"Just watch," he smiled.

Shane quickly grabbed one of the grapes out of the bowl on the table next to him. Shane threw it up in the air before doing a back flip and catching the grape in his mouth. Mitchie laughed and began clapping.

"Shane, how on earth did you figure out you could do that?" Mitchie asked, a smile playing on her lips.

"When you combine Shane Gray and boredom, you usually get some interesting results," Shane joked.

"I can see that!"

"So, what's up?" Shane asked, eating some more grapes, but this time without the flip.

"Nothing much, me and Cait just decided we wanted to find you guys and do something fun. Caitlyn's looking for Nate and Jason as we speak."

"Okay, cool," Shane nodded, offering Mitchie some grapes, which she accepted happily.

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Caitlyn, Jason, and Nate all made their way out to the open area of the stadium where Connect 3's stage was being taken down and packed away for the next concert.

"I think we should play some wiffle ball!" Nate exclaimed, looking around at the wide open area.

"Okay, just lemme text Mitchie, I'll tell her to meet us out here," Caitlyn said, pulling her phone out of her pocket.

A few minutes later Shane and Mitchie made their way over to their three best friends.

"We're gonna play wiffle ball, aren't we?" Shane asked knowingly. Caitlyn nodded. "Of course, let me guess Nate's idea?"

"Shut up and pitch!" Nate joked, throwing the wiffle ball at his brother, attempting to catch the front man off guard.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," the competitive Caitlyn interrupted, her hands in the air. "First we need to make up teams!"

"Uh, but there are 5 of us, that's an odd number of people!" Mitchie reasoned.

"Well, I could always just leave," Jason suggested. A wall of protests hit him. "No really guys, I think I'll sit this one out. I wanna talk to Ellz anyways."

"You sure, dude?" Shane asked and Jason nodded in response.

"Okay, Smitchie verses Naitlyn then!" Caitlyn exclaimed once Jason had disappeared.

"Smitchie?"

"Well, Nate and I have a couple name, so Shane and Mitchie needed one too," Caitlyn smiled.

"But we're not even dating!" Mitchie pointed out, a slight blush on her cheeks. Caitlyn smiled; just two days prior Mitchie had unwillingly admitted to Caitlyn that she had a crush on Shane.

"Too bad," Caitlyn pouted. "Naitlyn verses Smitchie!"

Nate agreed but Shane protested.

"The teams are stacked! Caitlyn and Nate can play really well," Shane pointed out. "Mitchie's never played a game of wiffle ball in her life!"

"Oh well, deal with it poop star!" Caitlyn said picking up the bat that lay on the floor.

-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-

Caitlyn and Nate walked back to the dressing room, their arms looped. The couple had won by a landslide and couldn't be happier.

"Next time it's everyone verses the she-devil!" Shane pouted as he glared at Caitlyn.

"I'll still beat you!" Caitlyn laughed.

Shane rolled his eyes and walked towards the sandwiches that were set out in the dressing room.

"How was the game?" Jason asked, turning around in his chair to look at the four intruders.

"Caity and I dominated!" Nate boasted.

Caitlyn and Mitchie laughed as Shane seethed with anger.

"Hey Jase, I think we should do something you want to do now!" Caitlyn suggested.

"Really?" Jason's face lit up with excitement. "Okay! I wanna go guitar shopping! I need a new electric guitar!"

"Well, I'd love to go too, but the crew needs me to test some new instrumental things," Nate said standing up from his spot on the couch. "You guys have fun!" Nate gave Caitlyn a quick peck before leaving the room.

"Okay, let's go now!" Jason yelled, jumping out of his chair.

Caitlyn and Mitchie followed enthusiastically, but Shane remained seated in front of his plate full of sandwiches. Mitchie then reappeared and pulled Shane from the dressing room, much to his protest.

-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-

Caitlyn peeked around the shelf of guitars where Mitchie and Shane were sitting. Shane was playing a funny horn instrument and Mitchie was giggling next to him. Caitlyn smiled, she wished the two oblivious love birds would hurry up and date.

"Hey, Cait," Jason called from his spot on his stool near Caitlyn. She quickly turned her attention to her loveable best friend. "Look at this cool electric mandolin!"

"Awesome, Jase! Why don't you try playing something for me?" Caitlyn asked, taking a seat in the stool adjacent to his.

Caitlyn rested her head on Jason's shoulder, in a friendly way of course, as he played her a song Nate had written. It was titled A Short While More and was Caitlyn's absolute favourite. She closed her eyes, taking in the sheer beauty that the solely instrumental version of the song had.

-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-

Caitlyn awoke in Connect 3's dressing room about an hour later. Her body was angled into someone else's and a strong, but familiar arm was wrapped around her. Caitlyn blinked a few times before recognizing her surroundings and realising Nate was holding onto her. Caitlyn sighed happily before snuggling deeper into Nate.

"Hey there, sleepyhead," Nate smiled, nudging Caitlyn. She moaned in response.

Caitlyn looked around to see that the dressing room was empty.

"What happened?"

"You fell asleep at the Guitar Shop," Nate laughed. Caitlyn blushed, hiding her face in Nate's chest.

"Wow, I'm such a loser!"

"Oh, don't worry about it! I think it's cute!" Nate assured Caitlyn, rubbing her back.

There was two more hours until Connect 3 and their two best friends would be able to leave the stadium in Indiana and go and pick up Mr and Mrs Gray, along with their youngest son, at the hotel. From there the whole group would be going out for a nice big dinner.

-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-

As Caitlyn and Mitchie stepped off the elevators into the hotel lobby they spotted the whole Gray family.

"You guys ready?" Nate asked, taking hold of Caitlyn's hand. The whole group had decided, at dinner the previous night, that they would try out the local indoor skydiving.

Caitlyn nodded, but Mitchie burst out laughing instead. Shane was dressed in his usual wardrobe, but his shirt was accidently tucked in at the front and he was wearing his big glasses. The girls had never seen him without contacts.

"Shane, you look like a nerd!" Mitchie laughed as they made their way to the limo.

Shane smirked and played along with the joke. He tucked the rest of his shirt in and pushed his glasses farther up his nose.

"Hey, there pretty lady," he said in a nerdy, congested tone.

"Hi," Mitchie laughed.

"I got my library card and I'm checking you out!" he snorted.

Caitlyn laughed, "You're such a loser Shane!"

Shane and Mitchie ignored their friend and just smiled at each other.

-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-

"Hello," Caitlyn snapped in front of Mitchie and Shane.

"Huh?" they grunted in unison.

"We're here you love struck idiots!" Caitlyn groaned before following Nate out of the limo.

Once inside, an instructor took all the teenagers and Joey into a room where they would be taught what to do in the wind tunnel.

"I'm so gonna pone you, Shane!" Caitlyn smirked pulling on her helmet and taking Nate's hand

"We'll see about that, Gellar," Shane replied.

Nate shook his head, this would not end well. Neither of the two would give up until they beat the other.

-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-

"That was fun!" Mitchie smiled brightly as they stepped out of the wind tunnel.

"I can't believe Joey beat me!" Caitlyn muttered.

"I can't believe you BOTH beat me!" Shane exclaimed.

"Holy crap, would you two shut up?" Nate groaned as he pulled of his helmet.

The two looked over at Nate. Shane glared, but Caitlyn bit her lip as her heart fluttered a little. Nate's cheeks were a light, blotchy pink that Caitlyn found adorable.

"Sorry," she whispered before kissing him hungrily.

"Ew!" Shane yelled. "First you're angry now you're horny, seriously Caitlyn?"

"Shut up," Caitlyn growled, breaking her kiss with Nate, much to his disappointment.

-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-LTD-

After 20 minutes of arguing, the whole group had managed to exit the skydiving arena.

"That was so much fun!" Jason smiled happily. "Hopefully one day I can jump out of an actual plane!"

"Not if I have anything to do with it!" Mrs Gray interrupted sternly.

_Authors Note: I'm sorry this took forever, but I lost my inspiration! It seems to be coming back though! Oh, and has anyone notice the abundance of Nalyson/Naitlyn awesome-ness lately? The two sing together in the "This is Our Song" song and if you watch the Jonas Brothers Live Chat from August 11 Alyson enters and the two share a pretty LONG off camera greeting…. Oh, and if you look up the Jonas Brothers on Good Morning America singing Heart and Soul, Alyson is a back up dancer, and towards the end Alyson is like leaning on Nick. I know it's not much… but it's something to give us some hope, right? _


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